The problem is the male-dominant Missouri senators did not pay attention during their junior high health class. The Senators who want to control Missouri women seem to have no idea how contraception methods actually work.

The Kansas City Star detailed a heated debate in the Missouri legislature over contraceptive access, causing Obstetrician gynecologists, like me, to shake their heads at the lack of sexual health knowledge.

Here is the background of what triggered this debate.

Like many states, Missouri partially funds Medicaid, a federal program providing health access to low-income people, through a hospital tax. Most funding for Medicaid comes from the Federal Government, but states do have to pay a share.

Missouri’s $4 billion hospital tax is set to expire in September and must be renewed. The renewal of the current hospital tax has nothing to do with contraception coverage. The bill continues the hospital tax already in place, allowing the state to fund Medicaid and receive Federal dollars in return.

So how did access to birth control enter the debate on a bill that has nothing to do with contraception?

A group of senators is withholding support for the hospital tax renewal unless the state bans contraceptive methods that cause abortion. The problem is none of the birth control methods being debating cause abortions. Federal law bars the use of Medicaid funds for abortions through the Hyde Amendment.

Missouri is holding up Medicaid funding to block contraceptive methods that reduce unplanned pregnancies and reduce the number of abortions. 

 The problem is none of the methods in Missouri’s proposed ban cause abortions. Our views on abortion vary, but we must understand the fundamental science to have a meaningful discussion. 

Our country’s public policy and heated social media debates should at least be based on facts.

Plan B is not an abortion pill. Stop calling it that.

Plan B is the brand name of one form of emergency contraception. Emergency birth control prevents pregnancy and is not an abortion medication.

RU486 (Mifepristone) is a medication used to induce abortion. Abortion medication terminates a pregnancy and is not a form of emergency contraception. 

Plan B and RU486 are not the same medication. Plan B and RU486 are not the same things at all.

Emergency contraception (EC) contains progesterone, a hormone produced naturally by the ovaries. It is often called “the morning after” pill. Common brands, such as Plan B, are available over the counter without a prescription.

Emergency contraception is formulated with a high dose of progesterone. This hormonal blast disrupts, delays, or prevents ovulation. High-dose progesterone also thickens the cervical mucus creating a toxic environment for sperm. It will not terminate an already established pregnancy.

Progesterone does not cause abortion. Emergency contraception decreases the risk of pregnancy by inhibiting ovulation. If conception has already occurred, then it is too late for emergency contraception. 

Once pregnancy occurs, the ovary forms a type of ovary cyst called a corpus luteum. It produces progesterone to support the growing pregnancy. Taking emergency contraception will only add more progesterone to support the developing fetus.

Obstetrician gynecologists and infertility doctors often give extra Progesterone to high-risk pregnancies to help prevent miscarriages. 

Banning funding for Plan B will not reduce the number of abortions because it does not cause them in the first place. Plan B will not terminate an already established pregnancy. 

When people take Plan B within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, it reduces the risk of pregnancy by 70–80%. If a woman is already pregnant and takes Plan B, then nothing happens. Emergency contraception is called Plan B and not Plan A for a reason.

IUDs (intrauterine devices) reduce abortions. They do not cause them. 

Abortion rates in the United States are at historic lows. The national drop in abortions coincided with the passage of the 2008 Affordable Care Act, which made contraception accessible without a copay.

Access to birth control improved. Unintended pregnancy, teen pregnancy, and abortion rates did not just decrease; they plummeted. 

Many public health experts credit the drop in abortion rates to the increased use of Long-acting reversible contraception methods (LARCS). 

Long-acting reversible contraception methods work for an extended period of time after a one-time insertion giving patients the confidence of years of protection. Examples of LARCs are IUDs (Intrauterine Device) and subdermal implants (Nexplanon).

An IUD is a small device inserted into the cavity of the uterus. There are currently five IUDs available in the US — Kyleena, Skyla, Mirena, Paragard, and Liletta. Nexplanon is the only subdermal implant available.

After removing these devices, the return to fertility is almost immediate, with pregnancies seen as early as seven days after removal. LARCS demonstrate the lowest failure rates, highest continuation rates, excellent safety profiles, minimal side effects, and few medical contraindications.

Missouri Senators need to know IUDs do not cause abortions. 

Progesterone IUDs have three main mechanisms of action:

1. The progesterone thickens cervical mucous blocking sperm from getting past the first line of defense.
2. Progesterone creates a vaginal environment that kills sperm after ejaculation.
3. These IUDs also reduce fallopian tube motility making it more difficult for an egg to travel from the ovary to the uterus.

Copper IUDs release copper ions that create an inflammatory state. Sperm do not survive in this environment. Sperm dies at the level of the cervix and the endometrium. Copper IUDs kill sperm and inhibit its ability to swim towards the egg.

The idea that IUDs allow pregnancy to occur and then cause an abortion is outdated and not supported by scientific evidence.

Missouri Senators owe it to themselves and their constituents to learn contraceptive basics before passing bills that limit individual liberty. 

Birth control access has reduced the number of US abortions to historic lows. Pro-life and Pro-choice constituents agree the reduction in the need for abortions is great news for US Women. We are on the same team on this issue. 

Missouri Senators may reverse our project in abortion reduction by passing a bill that reduces access to birth control and increases the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions. 

Missouri women should not be punished because the Legislature did not pay attention in Junior High Health classes. 

The post Missouri Debates Birth Control Ban Without Knowing How Contraception Works appeared first on Medika Life.

This Texas abortion ban continues Governor Abbott’s pattern of limiting the rights of individuals in favor of the government control over people’s lives. Previously, Abbott signed SB 8, which banned abortion in Texas after six weeks of gestation. Many women do not know they are pregnant so early in pregnancy.

SB 8, known as the “ heartbeat ban,” removes the rights of pregnant people to control what happens to their bodies even if they were the victims of incest or rape.

The new law passed on July 16 takes the abortion ban on step further. Under HB 1280, any health provider who attempts to perform an abortion could be charged with a second-degree felony. If the abortion is successful, doctors can be charged with a first-degree felony and potentially life in prison. Physicians who perform abortions would face fines of a minimum of $100,000 and lose their license.

While it may seem strange that Texas would pass a state law contingent upon a potential change in Federal law, the timing of HB 1280 coincides with abortion legal challenges happening on a national stage. The US Supreme Court will hear arguments this fall on a Mississippi law banning abortion after fifteen weeks gestation.

Mississippi’s abortion law serves as a test case for many other abortion restrictions passed in various states. The Mississippi law is in direct conflict with the wording in Roe v. Wade which gave women the Constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability, the time at which a baby can survive outside of the uterus.

Due to advancements in neonatology intensive care, preterm babies can survive as early as 23–24 weeks in most hospitals. A Mississippi Supreme Court victory would remove the viability threshold established in 1973, opening the legal doors for other states to limit reproductive rights.

Some believe the Supreme Courts’ shift to the political right increases the odds of Roe vs Wade will be overturned. The former President appointed three pro-life Justices during his term. Justice Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett have a strong history of supporting anti-choice legislation. The conservatives are now in the majority, six to three.

The new Texas abortion ban, HB 1280, that turns physicians into criminals, was co-sponsored by Southlake’s Representative Giovanni Capriglione and McKinney’s Senator Angela Paxton.

The law includes no exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape or incest. There are narrow exceptions for pregnant people with life-threatening conditions

An increase in government control over healthcare decisions has many people on edge. Paxton Smith, the valedictorian of Lake Highlands High School’s Class of 2021, drew national attention for her passionate commencement speech. Smith focused on the idea of personal liberty.

Smith questioned the “heartbeat bills” idea that rape victims, through no fault of their own, can no longer make a personal choice regarding their future. Instead, the Texas Government dictates these womens’ future. As Smith said, “a decision that will affect the rest of their lives is made by a stranger.”

Texas women no longer have the right to choose to parent or choose an alternative path. Instead, Governor Abbott has determined the Texas Government should decide what is best for each woman.

Smith summed up the dangers of governmental overreach stating:

“I have dreams, and hopes, and ambitions. Every girl graduating today does. And without our input and without our consent, our control over that future has been stripped away from us.”

The post Governor Makes Abortion in Texas A Crime if Roe v. Wade Is Overturned appeared first on Medika Life.